'Shovels in the ground' for new Winnipeg ER within 2 years, Kinew promises as Manitoba NDP delivers 1st budget

Manitoba is facing a nearly $800-million deficit for the year ahead, as the first budget under the NDP gov‐ ernment promises incre‐ mental progress on a num‐ ber of election commit‐ ments, along with new tax relief geared toward lowerincome households.

The Manitoba govern‐ ment's 2024 budget, released Tuesday, pledges to double the province's spending on health-care infrastructure including beginning the pro‐ cess of building a new emer‐ gency room at Winnipeg's Victoria Hospital.

It also promises to extend the provincial gas tax holiday by another three months and introduce changes to the ed‐ ucation property tax next year that will essentially elim‐ inate the tax for some home‐ owners, but see the owners of higher-valued homes pay more.

A total of $635 million is budgeted for health-sector capital projects, including starting the process of open‐ ing a new Victoria ER, along with an emergency room in the Interlake community of Eriksdale and a new Cancer‐

Care headquarters - all NDP election promises.

However, the budget doesn't offer a timeline for any of those projects, though Premier Wab Kinew, speaking during an early afternoon briefing with reporters, said he expects "shovels in the ground" for Victoria's ER within two years.

That south Winnipeg emergency room was con‐ verted into an urgent care centre in 2017, under what the then Progressive Conser‐ vative government called the "most significant change in the health-care system in a generation."

Tuesday's budget also promises $2.5 million this fis‐ cal year toward planning a supervised consumption site in Winnipeg's North Main area, and $500,000 for start‐ ing an inquiry into the con‐ struction of the Winnipeg police headquarters, but no start or completion date is provided for those initiatives either.

The government is pledg‐ ing a total of $1.4 billion more in spending across the board - a six per cent in‐ crease over the last budget. In particular, the health de‐ partment will get an extra $980 million in spending, for a total of $8.2 billion.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala said those spending in‐ creases are appropriate, even as his government tries to slay a forecast deficit for the previous fiscal year of nearly $2 billion.

"There are those who will say this budget is too ambi‐ tious - but it's for those rea‐ sons it needs to be ambi‐ tious," Sala said in a written copy of his budget speech.

He maintained the gov‐ ernment can fix health care and make life more afford‐ able, while also charting a path back to a balanced budget in four years.

"And if anyone tries to tell you it can't be done - we're going to prove them wrong."

The province is assuming its books will be supported by an extra $960 million in revenue. Tax revenues are projected to increase, includ‐ ing $152 million in added PST revenues due to an expecta‐ tion of higher consumer spending. Federal transfers will rise by just under $1 bil‐ lion, to a total of $6.9 billion.

Promise to hire 1,000 more health-care workers

The biggest winner in the $24.1-billion provincial budget is health care, which the NDP made the focus of last fall's election campaign.

The government is promising to open minor in‐ jury and illness clinics in Win‐ nipeg and in Brandon, and a new primary care clinic in Winnipeg.

There's money set aside for 151 new acute care beds and seven more intensive care beds as well.

The government is also pledging $310 million toward its goal of hiring 1,000 new health-care workers over the next year.

Premier Kinew expressed confidence Manitoba will reach that target.

"We hope to exceed those numbers," he told reporters during Tuesday afternoon's briefing.

Though details are sparse on how the government will find those workers, the province is committing $15.6 million for new doctor train‐ ing seats, $12.3 million to‐ ward recruiting and training new family medicine doctors, and $6 million for new med‐ ical specialists.

The health-care hiring pledge would include adding 100 doctors in 2024 - a signif‐ icant increase, says Doctors

Manitoba president Michael Boroditsky.

"We're encouraged that the government is putting to‐ gether a lofty number, and now we're interested to sit at the table and figure out the details," he said following Tuesday's budget release.

But Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents some rural health-care work‐ ers, expressed skepticism around the hiring target, which would also include 90 more paramedics and 600 health-care aides.

"I think it will be really challenging. The job right now, the pay isn't competi‐ tive with everything around them," he said.

"I think there is a lot of work to be done to make those jobs attractive to Mani‐ tobans who want to take them on."

The previous PC govern‐ ment initially committed $200 million toward recruit‐ ment and retention efforts, and pledged an extra $200 million before the election campaign.

Gas tax extended

The budget also includes various affordability mea‐ sures.

The government will ex‐ tend the provincial gas tax holiday, which temporarily suspends the 14 cent per litre tax, until the end of Sep‐ tember.

Interim Manitoba Liberal Leader Cindy Lamoureux ar‐ gues the government could have found a better use for the tax money it is forgoing.

"This budget further adds to our debt, really pushing our province into an irre‐ sponsible position," she said.

The province will also scrap the existing package of 50 per cent education prop‐ erty tax rebates in favour of a single credit of up to $1,500 to all homeowners, begin‐ ning in 2025.

The tax rebate for farm properties will be maintained at 50 per cent, while the re‐ bate for other commercial properties is being removed altogether pending the intro‐ duction of a new education funding model expected to be released in 2025.

While the previous Pro‐ gressive Conservative gov‐ ernment pledged to gradual‐ ly eliminate the tax altogeth‐ er, the NDP's new system will result in some homeowners getting credit for the full amount they pay in taxes, and some others paying more than they were under the PC administration.

Under the previous mod‐ el, a homeowner paying $2,301 in gross school tax would get a total of $1,500 back through the 50 per cent tax rebate and a $350 prop‐ erty tax credit - meaning that homeowner will essentially see no change under the flatcredit system.

The change to a flat credit will mean homeowners whose taxes are above the $2,301 threshold will end up with a lower rebate than they previously got.

However, any Manitoba household subject to $1,500 of provincial property taxes or less in 2025 won't pay any provincial property taxes at all.

Kinew said 83 per cent of Manitobans "will make out better" under his govern‐ ment's plans.

Political scientist Christopher Adams said it's another sign of the NDP sup‐ porting lower-income people at the expense of higher-in‐ come people.

"We have a budget that's more oriented toward mid‐ dle- and low-income" people, he said, noting the govern‐ ment is about to launch a school nutrition program and planning to build 350 more social and affordable housing units.

Overall, the property tax changes will raise provincial revenues by $148 million an‐ nually.

Interim Progressive Con‐ servative Leader Wayne Ewasko doesn't believe most homeowners will be better off.

"When you really drill down to it, it's going to be a significant loss to Manito‐ bans, and I think it's going to hurt more people than it's going to help," he said.

There is also a change to income taxes that will see people with net income above $200,000 paying more through a clawback on the basic personal exemption.

The province will also cre‐ ate a $300 rebate for people or businesses buying security systems and a rebate of up to $4,000 for electric vehicle purchases, retroactive to Au‐ gust of last year.

The budget also includes money for free prescription birth control - expected to come at a cost of $5 million this fiscal year - and to dou‐ ble the maximum fertility treatment tax credit to $40,000.

In 2025, the renters' tax credit will increase from $525 to $575. The province will gradually return the credit to the $700 amount it was until the Tories reduced it in 2021.

Legislation is also promised to help convert commercial buildings into residential rental units, though no details provided in the budget.

The province is also promising a $7.7-million in‐ crease for highway mainte‐ nance, including a plan to provide 24/7 snow clearing for the Perimeter Highway.

Kinew backtracked on a planned inquiry into the COV‐ ID-19 pandemic, explaining Tuesday a "thorough" review into government decisions is necessary but that Manito‐ bans want to move on from the pandemic.

Manitoba has run deficits in every year but two since 2009. The government's net debt is forecast to climb this year to $35 billion. are